How do we measure and report on Student Learning?
Important Note to Parents
At the end of the 2017/2018 academic year, you received a notice that reporting of student progress would be changing format beginning in the 2018/2019 academic year. The roll out process is now complete through all grade levels.
The new reporting protocol involves teachers sending out informal interim reports to parents half way through each term of the semester. As a result it is necessary that we have the most up-to-date and accurate parent contact information on file - including primary email address(es), home, work and cell phone numbers. IF you are at all uncertain whether or not the school has the most current contact information for you, please be sure to contact PCSS.
Teachers will be using the email addresses in the system to send out interim progress communication.
If it is not correct in our Student Information System, you may not receive progress information on your child.
Teachers will be using the email addresses in the system to send out interim progress communication.
If it is not correct in our Student Information System, you may not receive progress information on your child.
Request to Resumbit / Reassess / Re-present
The document has several potential functions.
Standards-based grading, the format which the Yukon uses with the most current curriculum, as with previous curricula, requires that students be provided opportunities to succeed at the tasks they are set in the academic arena.
Some students/people have mistakenly misinterpreted this as meaning that "teacher's can't give zeroes".
I frequently point out to my students that I am a detective, not a mind reader. Although they may have the intellectual capacity to understand or to perform skills they have encountered in class, I cannot "see" into their brains to assess that - either formatively (assessment FOR learning) or summatively (assessment OF learning). I need the evidence they provide to me in the form of published learning tasks which may be oral, visual, textual etc., through observation of their work in progress and through conversations I have with the students and they have with each other.
Without the evidence on which to base an assessment, an educator is left flying blind.
The goal is not to punish students with "zeroes" for not submitting work which provides little data about whether or not a student understands the work. However, evidence/data must be available to assess. We as educators do, however (like many professionals) have deadlines that we must meet, and so having timelines for work submissions by students is reasonable both for managing the workload of several classes and in helping the students develop core competencies around personal accountability and time-management.
With the support of staff at Yukon Education Learning Support Services, and based on the work of Ken O'Connor (specifically his book How To Grade for Learning) I have developed a document that helps students to reflect on the challenges that have limited their achievement of their goals on a particular assignment, and allows staff and parents to support the students in re-setting goals to complete the work and achieve success.
The process is as follows:
Standards-based grading, the format which the Yukon uses with the most current curriculum, as with previous curricula, requires that students be provided opportunities to succeed at the tasks they are set in the academic arena.
Some students/people have mistakenly misinterpreted this as meaning that "teacher's can't give zeroes".
I frequently point out to my students that I am a detective, not a mind reader. Although they may have the intellectual capacity to understand or to perform skills they have encountered in class, I cannot "see" into their brains to assess that - either formatively (assessment FOR learning) or summatively (assessment OF learning). I need the evidence they provide to me in the form of published learning tasks which may be oral, visual, textual etc., through observation of their work in progress and through conversations I have with the students and they have with each other.
Without the evidence on which to base an assessment, an educator is left flying blind.
The goal is not to punish students with "zeroes" for not submitting work which provides little data about whether or not a student understands the work. However, evidence/data must be available to assess. We as educators do, however (like many professionals) have deadlines that we must meet, and so having timelines for work submissions by students is reasonable both for managing the workload of several classes and in helping the students develop core competencies around personal accountability and time-management.
With the support of staff at Yukon Education Learning Support Services, and based on the work of Ken O'Connor (specifically his book How To Grade for Learning) I have developed a document that helps students to reflect on the challenges that have limited their achievement of their goals on a particular assignment, and allows staff and parents to support the students in re-setting goals to complete the work and achieve success.
The process is as follows:
- A student EITHER has not submitted an assignment by the due date OR receives feedback on their work and would like to achieve a better result.
- The student completes the basic information at the top of the form.
- The student reflects on their current level of achievement: Incomplete, Not Yet Meeting Expectations, Approaching Expectations, or Meeting Expectations
- The student reflects on PRECISELY why and/or how they ended up with that level of achievement. NB: in order for this process to be effective, and in order for the request to be approved, the student must have given thoughtful consideration to this part of the form and be able to be sincere about what difficulties they faced, and what external factors and personal choices impacted the end result.
- Students choose a goal for themselves. The goal should be at least a passing level of achievement (Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding Expectations).
- A student who earned a "Meeting Expectations" may engage in this process if they want to improve their mark.
- Student will earn the higher assessment of any submissions they have made.
- One student asked if they had to take a a higher level of achievement. (i.e. if they got "Approaching Expectations" on one iteration and "Meeting Expecations" on another, could they CHOOSE a lower level of achievement.) I am not sure why a student would choose this, but I addressed this as a valid concern. I pointed out that to score a student lower than his best level of achievement would necessitate a discussion with parents/guardians (and possible the school administration) and another signed document of understanding that any such result was at the direction of the student and their parents, not at the professional recommendation of the educator.
- Using that reflection as a Guide, and specifically addressing those challenges, the student can choose from among some of the suggestions already on the sheet and/or they can make note of additional, specific, measurable things they will do to address those challenges.
- (i.e. Saying, "I didn't use my time well." and then saying, "I'll use my time well." aren't effective - they are too vague. Instead, a student could be specific about HOW they actually used their time: "I was distracted by gaming on my cell phone", or "I was chatting with friends", or "I thought I had more time" etc. Their plan could then be something specific like "On *Date*, *date* and *date* I will give my parents my phone between 7pm and 8pm and work on this project; I will show my parents what I already have done at 7pm and will show them what I have completed by 8pm in order to get the phone returned."
- The plan must be approved FIRST by the instructor, who will review it with the student and will work with the student to set an agreed upon absolute deadline.
- Students are advised to have information about work schedules, team practices/tournaments/games etc available for this discussion.
- Students THEN take this document home to review with their parents/guardians. Parents and guardians may make suggestions to the plan or re: absolute deadline but these need to be agreed upon with the teacher.
- Once all parties are clear on the expectations, and student, teacher and parents/guardians have signed, the student will use the request as a guideline to help them complete the work.
- Students will attach the completed request with signatures to the submitted work.
- Assessment results would be changed according to the level of achievement representing the student's best performance of the task.
| pcss_request_to_resubmit_form.pdf |